Luis Miguel Echegaray, the windup to the MLS season officially began last Thursday at Media Day.Now we got a taste of this last year, but this is actually the first full year of the Lionel Messi experience in Major League Soccer.
Tell us, what did Messi have to say?
Nothing really, my friend, but it's customary of Lionel Andres Messi to really not show much of his face.He wasn't there, and I don't expect many interviews from him.Everything that he wants to do is always on the pitch.
So he wasn't there, and to you, that didn't come as much of a surprise.
No, no, it's really a traditional instinctive thing that's gone on in his entire career ever since he graduated from La Masia in Barcelona.He is a very quiet, a very let my feet do the talking kind of man.
Well, did any other mouth do talking for him?What did we hear, if anything, from Inter Miami?
Tata Martino, of course, the Inter-Miami coach who was there already from last season, of course, part of the welcoming package when Messi came in and the League's Cup, etc.But he was there and he used a lot of NBA comparisons.
Well, first of all, I like the NBA, and from what I've followed in the NBA, before, the super teams were conformed of two players, two big players, then three, then even four.And, you know, sometimes those teams still struggle to win.
It was great to see he was talking about you know, comparing to creating a super team in the NBA and how it takes time and patience.And obviously the number one protagonist being Lionel Messi.It takes a few pieces to make a great team.
And it was great to hear Tata speak about the development and the setup of what it takes to make Inter Miami not just a good team, but a champion.
I mean, now you're talking my language here with NBA super team.Of course, it's quite fitting if MLS is all about Messi now for the league to literally start with just Messi.
It's the only way, my friend.And Messi being the ultimate cherry on the top, right?And even though Messi's not in the room, he's always talked about.
And from that moment, whilst he's in this league, that's pretty much what's going to happen all the time.Any room. Whether it's a dressing room or whether it's a media room, it's going to be all about Lionel Messi.And MLS Media Day was exactly that.
Lionel Messi's MLS debut last summer was spectacular, giving us dramatic goals, record-setting ticket prices, and a League's Cup title for Inter Miami.
But now Messi is faced with leading a somewhat aging super team through a nine-month marathon of a season where nothing on the pitch is guaranteed.
So today, Luis Miguel Echegaray checks in with us to talk about the evolution of the Messi brand and why, when it comes to the beautiful game, Lionel Messi is always the most important guy in the room, even when he's not actually in it.
I'm Israel Gutierrez.It's Tuesday, January 16th.This is ESPN Daily.
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OK, Luis Miguel, let's back up a minute to see how we got here with Lionel Messi.We have, of course, discussed this on the show previously, you and I, but let's recap again how he ended up playing for Inter Miami.
Well, after the big breakup that was his goodbye with his beloved Barcelona, where he's been there since he was a child in 2021, where he made himself a legend, where he made himself a winner in almost every single way, he moved on to play for Paris Saint-Germain with Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr.
And he told me, personally, IG, that it wasn't necessarily a happy time for him for many reasons.One of them being, of course, they still couldn't do that coveted treasure of winning the Champions League, of course.But after only two years, he left.
And from that moment on, everybody knew that the contract was ending. Everybody chimed in, of course, Saudi Arabia's interest, the Saudi professional league club, Al Hilal, with a monumental, ridiculous contract offer.
But again, that was just not going to happen because his wife, Antonella Rocuso, and his family wanted to be at a place where, if they couldn't be in Argentina, which is still too early, they wanted to be at a place where they could be themselves, right?
In a culture that celebrates Latin America, but at the same time is open for business.And the Messi brand is a very important thing. And all of that pointed to a move to MLS and into Miami.
In fact, Jorge Mas, the co-owner of the club, spent three years in the works making sure that this would happen.Talking to Messi's father, who's obviously one of his representatives, to making sure that this happened.And here we are, my friend.
I mean, a Leagues Cup trophy later, a magical, maniacal summer of Messi, which was last summer.
We're here now for his first full season at MLS.It's going to be very interesting to see how this one goes.
Luis Miguel, we just mentioned that Messi was not at MLS Media Day.So you mentioning that he told you something personally is quite the flex there.So I did want to follow up on one more item, though.Why MLS in particular?
Other highlights of the league?What was it about the league that made it OK to sort of redo his financial structure of a deal and come to the States?
Yeah, that's a really good question because it's important to understand a few things, first of all.Most people that don't follow Major League Soccer have a misconception about Major League Soccer.This isn't the league that people think.
This is the most diverse sports league in North America.It's a league that's now transactional, creating a lot of talent, not just domestically, but abroad as well. So that appealed to Messi a lot.
And also, this game, just like comedy, IG, is all about timing.
So after finally winning the World Cup in 2022, and already a closet packed of Ballon d'Ors, there is very little for Messi to think about when it comes to his own happiness, because that's very important.
He wanted to be happy and at the same time maintain that level of competitiveness. An MLS is a no-brainer, and Miami is a no-brainer.And I keep emphasizing this point.
Because he's Latin American, because he's Argentinian, he doesn't speak any other language, at least from a public perspective.He doesn't speak anything else other than Spanish.
He doesn't want to celebrate anything else other than his roots and his family. The best place outside of Argentina, outside of Barcelona, which he loves very much, is go to Miami and create an empire.
And also build something that nobody has ever done before, which would be amazing to just lead the way to this thing.But I enforce this point again, IG, this is not the league that people think about.
It's strong, it's growing, and when 2026, the World Cup comes to town, it's gonna be in even bigger shape.
Now let's talk about coach Tata Martino, who was at Media Day, like you mentioned.And one of the comments he said that I found interesting was they need to find, meaning Inter Miami, a way to get, quote, get the best out of Messi.
Now, Luis Miguel, it feels like we saw a very good version of Lionel Messi when he did play last year for Inter.What did Martino mean by that?How can that happen?
Yeah, it's a good question because, you know, it's not necessarily something that we haven't seen before.I think the answer there lies within that Tata Martino wants to create an environment that gets the best out of Messi.
So it's really less about Messi and more about what can his teammates, Tata, Martino, the club do to make sure that he's at his best possible to shine.And the great thing about Messi is that all the cameras, all the attention is on him.
But if you watch very closely, specifically in that run, in the League's Cup run, he actually did a lot to remove the spotlight on him.He dropped deeper in the midfield.He wanted to allow other attackers to penetrate.
So he actually decided to say, well, if the attention is gonna be on me so much, let's let others shine.So I think that's what Tata Martini is referring to, to make sure that the environment
the culture, the starting 11, the roster, the training, everything is at its best, possible best, in order to get the best out of Messi.Because you know what you're going to get with Messi, pure gold, as long as he's healthy.
So let's make sure that Inter Miami and the squad around him helps him shine along with it.
Yeah, and we'll get into more specifically who his teammates are and how good Inter Miami can be.But part of that comes with, like you mentioned, the fandom and people wanting to watch him play.
So let's dig in a little deeper here on the Messi effect and what we've learned so far.Can you put into context just how big of a star he is based on, let's say, the last eight months or going into this MLS season?
Well, going into the MLS season, let's say this.As soon as he arrived, within a matter of weeks, Inter Miami's Instagram account was bigger than any other NFL team and any other NBA team aside from the Warriors, I believe.
By now, Inter Miami's Instagram account has more followers than the New York Yankees. And it's almost everything because of Lionel Messi.The Adidas Apple package is purely syndicated to making sure that Messi is exactly that at brand.
In fact, I'll go as far to say, Aji, that You can go anywhere in the world, almost anywhere in the world, and you say the word Messi and they'll know what you're talking about, more so than LeBron James or Tom Brady.
There are literal towns and villages in Southeast Asia that have a dedicated fan base just for Argentina, just because of Lionel Messi.His name is a global staple of sports that transcends everything.Now,
During that time in the League's Cup run in the summer when I was covering it and we did a great job at ESPN to follow this amazing journey, the amount of messy shirts I saw from both the opponent's sides to the Inter-Miami side was ridiculous.
I remember actually, It was late into the summer, and my sister-in-law sends me a photograph.She was in North Dakota, and she sent me a picture of a family, all of them wearing Messi shirts.Think about that for a second.
That's an incredible thing, right?
I'll think about that actually a lot, Luis Miguel, because I have a nephew who I've been trying to get a youth-sized Messi jersey, and I have not been able to.So maybe you can pass along my number to this family and see how they got all that gear.
I'll be sure I'll try and scout them, but I don't think I'll be going to North Dakota anytime soon.But you make a good point, though.The league couldn't keep up with the demand of so many shirts that are happening with Inter-Miami.
In fact, it's become such a waiting period.Here's another one for you. The opponents that are going to be facing in Inter-Miami and Messi now have to realize that when Messi comes to town, they have to be prepared.
So Sporting KC, for example, announced on April 13th that their home game against Inter-Miami is going to go from Children's Mercy Park, which is about 18,500 to Arrowhead. which is about 76,000.
And you can bet that that stadium is going to be very, very full, which is crazy.So that's the level of grandiosity that Messi brings.
Tell me about this preseason and the amount of games that Inter Miami is going to play and just the effect that Lionel Messi has had on their schedule early on.
Yeah, that's a really good question because this is something that I'm worried is the wrong word, but I'm just keeping my eye on it because of Messi's arrival to Inter Miami.
The club, unsurprisingly, the league, unsurprisingly, and everything behind it, unsurprisingly, knows that you're not just watching Inter Miami, you're watching Messi, meaning that you have to maximize this brand.
You have to maximize it, and at the same time, balance what you have in the preseason.So when I look at the schedule of the preseason before a single ball has been kicked for the full regular season, I think I'm a little,
worry just because it's so packed and it's international.They're going to play El Salvador.They're going to go there to El Salvador.Then they'll play FC Dallas, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nusra against Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
The Hong Kong best starting 11, Vissel Kobe, the Japanese champs. And then Newell's Old Boys, which is Tata Martino's love as well, before they begin their season.And that includes games in the U.S.and outside of the U.S.
So at 36 years old, I do worry about how much are you going to... you know, maximize the brand of Messi, but at the same time not risk his minutes.
Tata Martino and MLS Media, they said, look, we're going to try and economize and do the best that we can.But it's a lot of games, man.
It's a lot of games.But second most important is that the Major League Soccer fans are happy, right?Because you mentioned they're... playing at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and those prices starting at $65 will not last at $65 for very long.
So I'm curious if you could sort of explain how Messi has affected MLS ticket pricing and just what the fans here in the States can do to be able to afford to go to a Messi game.
When I was going to Inter Miami before Messi came, it was as simple as buying a ticket on the day, $11 to $15, and I could get a pretty good seat at DRV Pink Stadium.
I think if you were trying to see Inter Miami against the New York Red Bulls before Messi came last season, you were pretty happy if you got a $15 to $20 ticket.You can say goodbye to that whenever Messi comes to town now.
And I remember Don Garber, the MLS commissioner, telling me last summer saying that it's up to different clubs, just like we just told the Sporting Kansas City example, it's up to them to be responsible but at the same time maximize what happens when Inter-Miami and Messi come to town.
What about for this league?Has there been some sort of trickle-down effect in terms of bigger names coming to the league already so that fans that are not Inter Miami fans in the MLS can sort of get hyped up and try to match what Inter's doing?
Yeah, I mean... Again, I think that markets themselves are creating an environment where players are coming, big players are coming, and maximizing what they want to do.
Hugo Lloris, the World Cup French goalkeeping champion, has just left Tottenham and he's going to be playing for LAFC.We obviously know about Chiellini, the Italian star as well, who was there.
Carlos Vela, the Mexican star, who's actually, as we tape, is out of contract, but he was there.So there's already a lot of star power that's coming.
I'm actually really interested, IG, in generating talent from Latin America that could go to Europe at 21, 22 years old, but instead chooses MLS.And part of it is because Messi's here.And I think that's a really interesting point.
Miguel Almiron, the Paraguayan star who came from South America, Paraguayan, and came to Atlanta United, I want more of those stories.He now plays for Newcastle United, and I think part of that is gonna grow even more because of Messi.
Young Latin American stars are gonna say, I wanna go to MLS because I see the development, I see the market, and guess what?The World Cup's there in 2026.This is a no-brainer.So that's a big statement, I think.
Coming up, the expectations and the realities of the Inter-Miami squad.
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So Luis Miguel, we're now entering the first full year of the Lionel Messi experiment.As we mentioned, what has the team, Inter Miami, done so far to get ready for the season?
Well, let's begin with the obvious one, is he?Lucho Suárez.Luis Suárez is the biggest move Inter Miami has made up to this point.The Uruguayan striker who was a very good friend with Lionel Messi, obviously played with him at Barcelona.
I believe they won like 12 trophies, including the Champions League together.Neymar Jr.was there as well.So Luis Suárez is the biggest move.It's a big one.He's one of the most prolific strikers in the game.
has seen both internationally and for club, but he is 37 by the time the season starts.So that's a bit of a question mark for me.We know how good he is.Leo Campana, the striker, the Ecuadorian striker that was there last season will be his backup.
So it's not like he has to do a lot of minutes, but his knees are not the same what they used to be.He came from Gremio in Brazil and talked about this very point.
So it's gonna be interesting to see how he does alongside Sergio Busquets, who we already know, of course, and Jordi Alva.
And Julian Gresso as well is another one, the USMNT player who just won, he's actually won two MLS Cups, and he's a former player of Tata Martina Atlanta United.So there are pieces being built there.
There's a lot of good things happening, but I do have question marks, Izzy, definitely.
Tell me about those question marks.
Well, I think that when you look at the Inter-Miami squad, it's very, number one, it's very attack-heavy.Leo Campana, Lucho Suarez, of course, Messi, et cetera, Kremaski when he feels going up front, so it's very good.
But what happens when they lose the ball and they're facing a team that's just pushing you, pushing you from a counter-attacking perspective? Defensively, they lost Kamau Miller at the back.
Of course, their defenders, all of them, aside from one in Tomas Aviles, are 30 years old or older.Aviles is 19.So as we tape, there is no replacement for Miller right now, but Tata Martino might do it.So that's my second problem.
You have Messi, you have Busquets, Jordi Ava, great.But they're all like mid-30s to late-30s.And then you have teenagers.There's no like in the middle.And that worries me a little bit.
And in a league where you need to play a lot, where you need to travel a lot, that can be a problem because this is a marathon and not a sprint.So that's my biggest question mark.
So the gap between the young players and the star veteran players is one of your concerns there.But what other potential roadblocks does Miami have here in achieving these goals?This is a long MLS season.
I don't think people recognize how long it goes.
It's so long.Begins in February, it doesn't even end.If you make it to the final, if you make it to MLS Cup, we're talking December, this is a long season.And guess what?There's a Copa America right in the middle, which will disrupt everything.
Not just for Inter Miami, but Inter Miami will suffer as a result because Messi Suarez, if he's selected for Uruguay, they will be gone.Drake Callender, the keeper, who did tremendously last season, maybe he might be selected for the U.S.
men's national team.You never know.So that's already a big headache for them.Now, like I said, it's not just Inter Miami that suffers this.Everybody else does.But it's very important.
for Inter Miami because you're losing Messi and a few others as well.So Copa America, to me, is a big one.And after Copa America, you got World Cup qualifiers.
So, you know, we're talking about maybe 10 games that Messi can miss in the regular season.So that's a big problem.Again, it's not just Inter Miami, but when you have Messi, it's definitely something to think about.
Well, Luis Miguel, I'm still wrapping my mind around Inter Miami being an international, a global product.
But while I do that, if you can wrap your mind around perhaps these older players and Messi and Busquets and Suarez making it through the MLS season, what can it look like for Inter?
What do you believe it will look like for Inter and will it end with one or multiple cups?
I have no doubt that Tata Martino has a poster in his room and he has objectives.And they're all step-by-step ones.And the number one thing is to make the playoffs.That's the number one target, MLS Cap boys.
Because remember, they have the Champions Cup to play for the CONCACAF version of the Champions League because they won the League's Cup. They also have the League's Cup to play for as well.So there's objectives there.
But at this point, from an MLS Cup perspective, the most important thing is to get the playoffs.That's the number one thing.After that, who knows?It all depends on how fresh they feel.
I mean, Messi should come in feeling pretty refreshed at the beginning of the season because he hasn't played a competitive game since November.In fact, Busquets was talking about it at MLS Media Day, how he's never had this long of a vacation.
He actually had to create his own preseason because because it was so long.So Messi should feel good.But at 36, Messi should be ready to go.He's going to be 37, of course.But I think make the playoffs.After that, who knows?
But it's very difficult because every now and again, I mean, look what happened.Columbus grew.I don't think many people predicted that last season.So they have everything in place, maybe one more defender to make it happen.
But because of the issue that I said before, Izzy, where it's very top-heavy in terms of age, it's very important that these players stay fit because any major issues and then, you know, you have to pivot.
But make the playoffs, which Inter-Miami will do.Am I going to go as far as to say they're going to win the MLS Cup?Not right now, Izzy.You're going to have to invite me back.
Okay, well, I'm just going to go ahead and get in the American fans head then and say, we're used to championships for super teams, right?You need to win in the playoffs in order to get the respect of the fans.
So would it be a failure if they don't win the MLS cup?Or are we looking at a different way of assessing these teams when you talk about a potential other leagues cup title, or maybe even a champions cup title within the middle of this?
Well, I'm going to take out my proverbial crystal ball and tell you right now that if, let's say that Inter Miami make it to the playoffs and they make it to the conference finals, but they just drop a little short of making MLS Cup, every single news headline will be that Messi and Inter Miami failed.
So I think that there's a reason why he's here.It has to be more about than just the brand.They have to at least try and make it MLS Cup because it's not like Messi again is in his 20s.
So I think many pockets of fan bases and punditry will say that if they don't make MLS Cup, it's a failure.And I would say that barring any injuries, I would probably join that line too.
If they're healthy and they have Luis Suarez and Messi and they make through after Copa America and they don't make a good run and they don't make MLS Cup, then, you know, the clock is ticking.
So they need to make it happen right now, because Messi's not going to be here forever.
Well, I would argue the fact that Messi is here at all is a wild success, both for Inter Miami and for MLS.Luis Miguel, thanks so much for your time and your expertise.
I'm Israel Gutierrez.This has been ESPN Daily.We'll talk to you tomorrow.
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